Melbourne Heart will again be without Brazilian Alex Terra for Sunday’s clash with Newcastle, but will be boosted by the return of Dean Heffernan.
Heffernan is back after being a late withdrawal from the side that drew 0-0 with Gold Coast last week.
Terra will have to wait at least another week to return after he failed in his bid to recover from a calf injury suffered in the draw with Wellington two weeks ago.
“Alex hasn’t (recovered), his injury has taken a lot longer than was initially expected, but at the same time, with amount of travelling and games we have left, we aren’t at a stage where we are willing to risk him,” Milicic said.
“Heffernan has trained today solidly with the group, and both the medical staff and Dean himself have declared him fit and ready, so Dean’s in and Alex is out.”
Key midfielder Gerald Sibon is also likely to come straight back into the starting line-up after serving his two-match suspension for stamping.
“Gerald’s experience is definitely a big plus to the group, and at the same time, Terra-s out, Aloisi is out,” Milicic said.
“Gerald has done well in the two weeks he hasn-t been playing on match day, so he’s eager to start and he will come straight in.”
The game was originally scheduled for EnergyAustralia Stadium, but due to the poor state of the playing surface, the match has been moved to Port Macquarie.
Milicic said the Heart are unfazed by the late switch and the team is confident of extending their unbeaten streak to four matches.
“The pitch, the stadium, the bus trip, it’s the same for both teams. We are taking an extra player and an extra person for the medical staff, another pair of hands.”
“We’ve organised massages, we’ve organised good meals at good places at the right times. We’ve had a lot of discussions about when we need to hydrate, and sleep times.”
“We’ve changed our arrival into Newcastle as well, so we like to think we have done everything we possibly can to get the players prepared and focused.”
“I think even looking back a couple of weeks ago to Wellington which is a difficult away trip in terms of conditions, this is a difficult away trip in terms of conditions for different reasons, but at the same time, we proved in Wellington we can overcome these kind of challenges and there-s no reason we can’t go there and play our normal game.”
